1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to object-oriented programming, and in particular, to a tracker class for managing objects created in object-oriented programming environments.
2. Description of Related Art
In C++ and other object-oriented programming environments, programmers create classes that define data members as well as a set of functions, typically referred to as member functions, for manipulating the data members. Each instance of a class, i.e., each object, has its own set of the data members and member functions of its class.
One significant drawback to object-oriented programming environments is that all the instances of a class, i.e., all the objects, are not managed in any standard manner. Generally, it is up to the programmer to define and program the management of objects. As a result, there is a need in C++ and other object-oriented programming environments for a tracker class that can be inherited by other objects, wherein the tracker class provides data members and member functions for managing objects instantiated in the environments.